indicator - multimeter

[nudedaytona]

The rear left indicator on my aprilia rs250 has stopped working. But it doesn't seem to be the bulb, as I have swapped it with a bulb from the front, and it still doesn't go. The connection doesn't seem to be as good. I'll borrow a multimeter tomorrow to check the current, but can someone please tell me how to use it. I know they have a wire and a screwdriver thingy, and you're supposed to earth the wire somewhere - is that right?

The indicators are a bit strange - other rs250s I have seen have stalk indicators, but my ones are set against the fairing. Does anyone know about this - do you think I'll have any trouble getting this bike vinned?

[imdying]

Ground one lead from the multimeter. Then probe the bulb holder... it should give a 0 ohm resistance value, as it too is an earth, if not, there's no earth. Then probe the bulb holders prong with the indicators on... it should go 12v 0v 12v 0v as the indicator 'flashes'. If not, then you've a fault between that and the switch and/or indicator relay, depending on the wiring setup of an RS.

[nudedaytona]

Ground one lead from the multimeter. Then probe the bulb holder... it should give a 0 ohm resistance value, as it too is an earth, if not, there's no earth. Then probe the bulb holders prong with the indicators on... it should go 12v 0v 12v 0v as the indicator 'flashes'. If not, then you've a fault between that and the switch and/or indicator relay, depending on the wiring setup of an RS.

I'm a bit slow sorry. Never fiddled around with electrics before. By ground do you mean put the wire to the concrete floor on my garage? Theres two wires coming into the bulb holder, should both go 12v 0v 12v 0v? The battery is a bit dead its only got about 10 volts in it at the moment,is that going to be a problem? (all the other lights work fine)

[imdying]

By ground I mean the negative terminal on the battery, or any part of the chassis that is connected to it (the negative terminal on the battery is the most reliable place).

[imdying]

As for the other stuf... no, only one wire will go 12v 0v, that's the 'live' wire, the other should be a dead short to ground (assuming RS250s have a conventional wiring system, I haven't got a diargram to look at).

The dead battery is a concern, you must fix this. The powervalve system does not function correctly if the battery isn't charged, you shoudl correct this at your earliest oppurtunity.

[nudedaytona]

Don't you get sick of all the idiot questions from newbies like me? You must have a lot of patience. How do you know all this stuff, you sound like you're an expert mechanic.

[imdying]

No, in your other thread I've really given you little to go on, all I've told you is where I'd start looking if it were my bike. The electrical stuff is pretty simple, it's only 12v lightbulbs.

I found an RS250 manual the other day for someone else, you can download it here (http://www.solo2tempi.it/manutenzione/stradali/manutenzione%20rs250/manuale%20officina/manuale%20officina.htm). It's not all in English, but a picture says a thousand words...

/edit: Had a look at the wiring diagram, it is indeed a common ground system, so the above method of checking should be fine.

[marty]

By ground do you mean put the wire to the concrete floor on my garage? )

sorry but that's just too funny :) bling your way!

[marty]

do we get a pic of your bike?

[nudedaytona]

OK I've got the multimeter. there seem to be four types of measurements, dc voltage, ac voltage, amperage, and resistance ohmns. I would guess that when measuring voltage i set the measurement to 20v dc, as I think that this is the maximum that the meter will measure so should be enough for a 12v bike. But I have no idea what to set the resistance to when I am measuring resistance. The available settings are 20M, 200k, 20k, 2000 and 200. Which one should I use?

Also, which lead should I earth to the battery and which should I use to check the bulb holder? There is a red lead connected to a socket which says
"V(symbol for Ohmns)mA->+", and a black lead connected to a socket named 'COM' ?

[imdying]

On 20k, measure between the negative terminal on the battery, and the earth pin in the indicator socket (read the wiring diagram, it'll tell you what colour wire is attached to the earth pic). That should read 0 resistance, or very close to it. If it does, it means that that side of the ciccuit is ok.

On 20v DC, measure from the negative terminal on the battery to the power pin in the indicator socket. That should read 12v when the indiciator flashes, and 0v when it's not. That'll prove that power is getting to the bulb.

Also measure the bulb across the pins (or body and pin for a single filament/pin bulb as that probably is), you should not get a 1 reading (when on 20k) , as this would indicate that no current can get through, which means the bulb is blown).

If you fail on any of these tests, you just need to trace back through to see what went wrong. Smart thing to do is to test the front on the same side, the same way. Also, test the other side that works, as that'll show you what you're supposed to be expecting when things are working :)

Oh, use the black in common for both, VDC for the red one when in 20v mode, and ohms for the red one when checking continuity. The A one is for checking current, you don't need to worry about that though.

[nudedaytona]

Oh, use the black in common for both, VDC for the red one when in 20v mode, and ohms for the red one when checking continuity. The A one is for checking current, you don't need to worry about that though.

Thanks. So you mean that I should connect the black common probe to the battery negative terminal, and test (both resistance and voltage) using the red probe?

[imdying]

Yes, that is correct.

[classic zed]

if you can get the bike running bring it up to me in Whangaparaoa, I will fix it for you in no time :2thumbsup

[nudedaytona]

Cheers mate. An indicator should be a simple thing, but I have found that due to my lack of experience things tend to take three times and long and be five times as frustrating as they should be. I'll let you know if I'll be coming up your way.

[imdying]

You will get faster and more efficient in your testing practices with time and experience. Go slow, enjoy some beer, and be :calm:

[ynot slow]

You will get faster and more efficient in your testing practices with time and experience. Go slow, enjoy some beer, and be :calm:

Mate been following this and was wondering if you had a site which gave instructions on using a multi meter,mine came with none,have a brother who is sparky and gave me a few tips.Get sick of asking him when need to check some other fault.

[imdying]

Google has heaps of sites, and even a video for the third result down! (http://www.google.co.nz/search?hl=en&q=how+to+use+a+multimeter&btnG=Google+Search&meta=)

[Daffyd]

I'm a bit slow sorry. Never fiddled around with electrics before. By ground do you mean put the wire to the concrete floor on my garage? Theres two wires coming into the bulb holder, should both go 12v 0v 12v 0v? The battery is a bit dead its only got about 10 volts in it at the moment,is that going to be a problem? (all the other lights work fine)

If you only got 10V there might not be enough to operate the flasher.

[ynot slow]

Google has heaps of sites, and even a video for the third result down! (http://www.google.co.nz/search?hl=en&q=how+to+use+a+multimeter&btnG=Google+Search&meta=)

Bloody hell tried to google once before and bought up everything but these links.many thanks,sometimes google can be a pain,others brilliant,just depends on the wording used.

[imdying]

Should be an NCEA subject.

[nudedaytona]

OK I've got the indicators going. Where the wires go under the pillion seat there was a connection that had come loose I've put them back together and it works.

But I'm still having problems with the battery. The indicators (all of them) now flash really fast when the bike is idling, when I increase the revs the flashing returns to normal speeds. The bike's own voltmeter still reads between 8-10 volts. I took it for a ride yesterday evening. After a while of riding (I kept the gear low to keep the revs up) the voltage got up to about 12 volts but by then it was getting dark so I had to turn the lights on. With the lights on it would stall at every intersection unless I revved it, (now I guess I know why the idling speed was set at about 3,000 revs before). Once it's warmed up it idles easily enough at 1,400 revs, but as soon as you turn the lights on it kills it.

I got cycletreads to replace the chain and sprockets the other day and asked them to charge the battery overnight, but now I'm wondering if they actually have. Or maybe the battery is poked and won't charge.

Another thing, the bike has a 'direct power system v2' rectangular thingy attached to the battery. It looks like some sort of performance aftermarket part, I've got no idea what it does. It has three leads coming out of it. Two come out and join together to a single battery connector, marked red. Another lead has a battery connector, taped black. I took it off the other day when I had a look at the battery. I couldn't remember which way round it went, so I duly connected the two leads with the red connector to the positive and the one with the black to the negative. That must be the right way round surely.

Does anyone have any idea what this thing does, could it be sucking power?

[imdying]

Once you let a battery run down, you're doing permanent damage. Maybe not a lot, but it all adds up, especially if the bike sits arounda bit. In other words, if it is shagged, they could charge it for a week and it wouldn't help, if you see what I mean.

Don't know what your black box is, post a decent pic of it here, and also post it at rgv250.co.uk here (http://www.rgv250.co.uk/forums/index.php?showforum=23), there's a contingent of rs250 owners there too.

Read post #5 again. If you battery is shagged, your powervalves will not operate correctly. AND THAT IS A BAD BAD THING. Just pony up and buy a good quality battery.

One of the problems with a bike that effectively mimics a race bike, is that your maintenance and general care also needs to mimic that which is applied to a race bike. Of course, in return, the RS250 will give fall over itself to give you the GP experience... and other than the NSR/RGV, you ain't gonna get that anywhere else these days :drool:

If you just want to ride, and can handle living in a boring sanitised world, buy a GSXR et all.

[imdying]

With the lights on it would stall at every intersection unless I revved it, (now I guess I know why the idling speed was set at about 3,000 revs before). Once it's warmed up it idles easily enough at 1,400 revs, but as soon as you turn the lights on it kills it.I apologise for not suggesting that the idle screw should be your first port of call for idle trouble, I incorrectly made the assumption that that would be the first place someone would have looked. :o

[nudedaytona]

I apologise for not suggesting that the idle screw should be your first port of call for idle trouble, I incorrectly made the assumption that that would be the first place someone would have looked. :o

No worries mate. I've already turned the idling speed back down to 1400 revs because that what it says it should be in the manual.

I'll get a new battery as soon as I can. In the meantime, what will be the harm in turning the idling speed up so I'm not stalling it all the time? I know it will make it harder to take off and harder to ride in busy traffic.

I don't apologise for getting a performance bike. I'm new at riding and maintaining bikes, but I'm sure that with time and experience I'll be all good. I've been really careful riding it so far. Gn250s, scorpions, Hyobags and gpx250s are for pussys

[imdying]

No, no harm, you'll just use a little more gas is all. Probably won't make it harder in traffic, they need a good slipping of the clutch to get them off the line smartly anyway, and even in traffic you'll want to keep it above 5000rpm :D

The RS might make somewhat of a mechanic out of you, but as you already know, the rewards are well worth it. 4 strokes 250s are for poor students and soft cocks... go the 2 mighty strokers, you know it's right :yes:

[nudedaytona]

Update: I have installed the new battery, now I don't have to start the thing to check all the lights work. I didn't bother putting the funny black box direct power thingy back on.

The parking lights are a nice blue colour, which looks cool. All the indicators work and flash normally. I have noticed that when I turn the indicators off the indicator box makes a strange (quiet) farting sound, wierd. But they all work and I don't think I'll hear this sound it when I have the seat back on.

The only thing left to sort out on this bike is the number plate light, which isn't going. Hopefully that's just a new bulb, then I can get it registered.

[imdying]

Excellent. Number plate light is easy, it runs off the taillight circuit, so even if you have to rewire the bastard, it'd be an easy job :lol: